How to Verify a Tax Professional's Credentials in Ten Minutes

People spend more time reading reviews of a toaster than checking the license of the person handling their IRS problem. I understand why. You are scared, the notices keep coming, and the voice on the phone sounds confident.

Confidence is free. A license is not. Here is how to check the one thing that separates a professional from a salesperson, using public tools that cost nothing.

Do this before you pay anything, before you sign a contract, and before you hand over a single bank statement. Once your money and your financial details are out the door, your leverage drops to zero. Ten minutes now beats ten months of chasing a refund later.

Step one: get a name and a number

You cannot verify a company. You verify a person. Under Circular 230, a practitioner is an individual, and only an individual can sign the declaration on a Form 2848 power of attorney. So the first question is simple: who, by name, will represent me, and what is their credential?

Ask for the bar number if they say attorney. Ask for the state of licensure if they say CPA. Ask for the enrollment number if they say enrolled agent. Form 2848 itself asks representatives for this information in Part II, the Declaration of Representative. A legitimate professional gives it without hesitation, because they write it on government forms every week.

If the answer is "our team of specialists" or "one of our tax professionals," stop. That is not an answer. That is a script.

Step two: check with the body that issued the license

Each credential has a different issuer, and the issuer is where the truth lives.

Where each credential is issued and checked

The IRS describes the licensing split this way: attorneys are licensed by state courts or their designees such as the state bar, CPAs by state boards of accountancy, and enrolled agents by the IRS.

For attorneys, the bar search should show the person is eligible to practice. The Florida Bar's public Find a Lawyer directory, for example, lets anyone search by name or bar number and filter to eligible lawyers. Mine is Florida Bar No. 986641. Look it up. That is the habit I want you to have with everyone, including me.

Step three: the IRS preparer directory

The IRS publishes the Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications. According to the IRS, it lists the name, city, state, ZIP code, and credentials of attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled retirement plan agents, and enrolled actuaries who hold a valid PTIN, plus all Annual Filing Season Program record holders.

Two cautions. First, the directory is built from PTIN holders, so a perfectly good attorney who does not prepare returns may not appear. Absence is a reason to ask, not proof of fraud. Second, the directory confirms a credential exists. It does not tell you whether the person is any good, or whether they will actually be the one working your file.

Step four: check for IRS discipline

The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility publishes records of practitioners who have been censured, suspended, or disbarred from practice before the IRS. The IRS describes a searchable record covering sanctions for Circular 230 violations within the last 25 years, along with announcements published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.

Search the individual's name. A clean result does not make someone excellent. A suspension or disbarment ends the conversation. See checking IRS disciplinary records for how to read what you find.

Step five: watch the words they use

Circular 230 section 10.30 bars enrolled agents from using the term "certified" to describe their designation or implying an employer and employee relationship with the IRS. Acceptable descriptions include "enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service."

So if someone calls themselves an "IRS certified agent," you have learned something. Either they do not know the rules that govern their own credential, or they are counting on you not knowing them. Neither is good.

The same goes for any suggestion of an inside track. Section 10.51(a)(5) lists, as disreputable conduct, intimating that the practitioner can improperly obtain special consideration or action from the IRS or its employees. "I used to work there, I know people" is not a selling point. It is a warning.

Step six: confirm after you hire

Verification does not stop when you sign. Once the power of attorney is filed, you can see authorizations in your IRS individual online account. The IRS says the account lets you view authorizations and approve and electronically sign a power of attorney from your tax professional.

Check that the name in your IRS account matches the person you vetted. If a different name appears, or no name appears weeks after you paid, ask why. The full walkthrough is in checking your IRS online account for authorizations.

When the person on the phone is not the person on the file

High-volume firms often split the work. A salesperson takes the first call, a case manager collects documents, and a licensed professional signs the power of attorney. That structure is not illegal. It does make verification trickier, because the person you vetted may not be the person doing anything.

Ask three follow-up questions. Who will sign my Form 2848? Who will actually speak to the revenue officer or the auditor? Who reviews my financial statement before it goes to the IRS? If those are three different names, verify all three and ask how often the licensed person touches your file.

Then get the answer in writing. The engagement letter should name the responsible professional. If the letter only names the company, ask for an amendment before you pay. The engagement letter checklist lists the other terms to look for.

Red flags during verification

The verification step itself is a test. How a firm reacts to it tells you nearly as much as the lookup results.

• They will not give a name until you pay. Every legitimate professional gives a name before you sign anything.
• They give a name, but no license number, and say it is "confidential." License numbers are public by design.
• They answer a credential question with a marketing claim: years in business, number of clients, an award. None of those is a license.
• They say the IRS "certified" them. Under section 10.30, enrolled agents may not use that word to describe their designation.
• They get irritated that you are checking. A professional who is proud of the license will tell you where to look it up.

Verify again if the case changes hands

Cases move. A professional leaves the firm, a case manager reassigns your file, or a company sells its book of business. Each change can put a new name on your account. Treat every new name like the first one: license, directory, discipline check, and a look at your IRS online account to see whose authorization is actually on file.

If a firm tells you your case has been transferred and you never signed a new power of attorney or approved a new authorization, ask how the new person is authorized to act for you. You are entitled to a straight answer.

What verification will not tell you

A license is a floor. It tells you the person met minimum standards and has not been thrown out. It does not tell you whether they handle cases like yours, whether they return calls, or whether the fee is fair.

For that, you still need the interview. Use the questions to ask before hiring and pay attention to whether the answers are specific. Specific is good. Vague is expensive.